Another reason not to use AOL. A former America Online employee pleaded guilty on Friday to charges he stole 92 million e-mail screen names and sold them to a "spammer." Jason Smathers, 24, admitted to conspiracy and interstate trafficking of stolen property, charges that could carry a maximum prison sentence of 24 months under federal guidelines.

The federal case charged that Smathers, of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, stole the screen names from AOL, a Time Warner Inc. unit, and sold it to an Internet marketer.

The marketer paid $28,000 for the names, then allegedly used them to promote his online gambling operation while also selling them to other spammers, according to prosecutors.